Appeals
An appeal must be presented in writing via the Online Appeal Form within five (5) University business days following issuance of a written decision.
The University allows one level of appeal review. The designated appeal agents are set forth below:
- Appeals of Student Conduct Facilitator decisions will be directed to the Director of the Office of Student Conduct;
- Appeals of decisions made by the Director of the Office of Student Conduct will be directed to the Dean of Students; and
- Appeals of decisions made by the Dean of Students or the University Conduct Board will be directed to the University Appeals Agent.
No further appeals are permitted.
An appeal may be sought on the following grounds:
- That a fundamental error occurred in the hearing procedures that unreasonably interfered with the responder’s rights. Such claims must be specifically described in the appeal letter.
- That new evidence or information germane to the matter and not available at the time of the hearing has been uncovered. This evidence must be clearly presented in the appeal letter.
- That the sanction imposed was unjust, unreasonable, or inappropriate. The letter must clearly explain the reasoning for this appeal.
An appeal is not a new hearing, but is a review of the records from the original hearing. An appeal may be dismissed if not sought on proper grounds. Additionally, any appeal that fails to set forth the required supporting information may be rejected. Any rejected appeal may be corrected and resubmitted for review within two (2) University business days.
Upon review, the appeal agent may decide to: (a) uphold the original decision in full; (b) modify the stipulations attached to a sanction; or (c) return the matter back to the original hearing entity for reconsideration.
No appeal agent, other than the Dean of Students or the University Appeals Designee shall have the authority to modify an original sanction in any way. The original sanctions and stipulations remain in effect during the appeal process. However, the appeal agent has the authority, under extenuating circumstances, to defer the imposed sanctions and stipulations while an appeal is in process.
Absent extenuating circumstances, the written decision will be issued as expeditiously as possible but in no event later than 15 University business days after receipt of the appeal.